ECTC opens on-campus food pantry - Elizabethtown News Enterprise

ECTC opens on-campus food pantry - Elizabethtown News Enterprise

In Felicia Toliver’s six years at Elizabeth­town Community and Technical College, some students have struggled with access to food.

She said college employees would respond in var­ious ways to the issue. Some would buy meals for students while others would keep food on hand for them.

Now those students will have another option for food after a food pantry opened this week on campus. The pantry, located in the James S. Owen building, is open to any student in need of food.

Toliver, director of cultural diversity at the college, spearheaded the effort to open the pantry. She said she knew the college had low-income students and wanted to remove some barriers for them.

She said hunger can be a barrier for students because it’s hard to learn when they haven’t eaten. Some­one is considered food insecure when a re­li­able access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food is lacking.

Toliver said food and transportation are key needs for low-income students at the college. She decided to focus on food insecurity because it was something the college quickly could tackle.

“Transportation is still relevant, but there’s a lot more steps,” she said.

Nationally, about 13.5 percent of community college students in 2015 were food insecure, according to a 2017 study from Urban Institute released in August.

In Hardin County, about 14.6 percent of the population is food insecure, according to a Feeding America study. Statewide, about 17 percent of Kentuckians struggle with hunger.

At ECTC, 50 to 60 percent of its students receive Pell Grants and are considered low-income.

Next semester, Toliver said she’s partnering with Western Kentucky University sociology and ECTC human services departments to help staff the food pantry. She said students will be at the pantry to refer others to community resources, if they want it.

Toliver said she was mindful of the stigma associated with being in need when she designed the space. Students won’t need to fill out paperwork or show need in order to receive food.

“Students can come in, get what they need and leave and no one has to know,” she said.

Toliver said she had the idea for the food pantry in late September or early October and researched pantries at other colleges. She said some provided toiletry items, while others offered lunch and snacks.

Toliver said ECTC’s pantry will have breakfast and lunch items along with snacks. The items are individually wrapped. The pantry also has a microwave and sink for students to use. She hopes to obtain a toaster soon.

She said she kept the focus narrow in order to get the pantry off the ground.

The pantry is in Room 122 of the James S. Owen Building. Toli­ver said the process to open the food pantry was one of the quickest turnarounds she’s seen.

“I really thought we wouldn’t turn this around until summer,” she said.

When she pitched the idea to ECTC President Juston Pate and Provost Tiffany Evans, she found a receptive audience. She said they helped to get the food pantry running as quickly as possible.

Pate said the food pan­try is important for academic success, and college administration wanted to ensure all students are prepared to do their best.

“This is one of those initiatives that doesn’t need to spend time in a committee or wait on a policy and procedure,” he said. “This is an initiative that will provide an immediate benefit for our students and their families. ... I am very proud of all those who have come together to make this happen.”

Toliver said the pantry is stocked from donations.

Pate said at a recent board of directors meeting the college was committed to keeping the pantry full.

He said that could include fundraising, food drives or personal donations.

“(The college will do) whatever needs to be done in order to make sure our students have food,” he said.

Now that the pantry is open, Toliver said she wants to find a way to be have fresh fruits and vegetables, so students have healthier options.

“We want to make sure they have brain food,” she said.